We need to keep fighting for more abortion bans

Fifty years ago in 1973, the violent decision of Roe v. Wade was handed down by the United States Supreme Court that legalized abortion throughout our country. I was just a teenager when the fight for life, a girl on the precipice of becoming a woman, and eventually a mom. 

I got very lost in this decision, like many women did, to separate the marriage from sexual activity and personally ended up four times in an abortion clinic. You know, half a century is a long time. But our past is not our destiny. As we celebrate the first anniversary of Roe’s overturn in June of last year, there is much celebration here in Washington DC, the first anniversary of a Dobbs world.

In a speech before pro-life groups recently, U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican leader in Congress, and a mom herself, quoted estimates that 181,000 lives have been born due to the recent victory of overturning Roe and giving us the Dobbs world. And while this, of course, gives us hope, there’s still a long road ahead and much work to be done. The battle has moved to the States, and outside of extreme circumstances, abortions are now banned in 14 states. Another six have a ban after a certain number of weeks. Another five have moved toward protecting life. But they’re being sued. And so we’re looking now at battling it out in the courtrooms because many want abortion to be legal in our country. 

But you know, that’s 25 states that have moved toward the sanctity of the unborn life. But that also means that there are 25 states that have not moved toward protecting innocent life in the womb. And while that may make it seem like our nation is divided, literally in half, well polls say a different thing. Polls have been consistent to show that it’s not the case. 

And in fact, a recent poll conducted by NPR and others, showed that the vast majority of Americans — 78% — support some kind of restriction on abortion. That means 78% of Americans recognize and acknowledge that something’s going on in that womb, that this is life. And that’s where we are now. Because for far too long, our society has been one that has prioritized convenience over compassion. 

We have prioritized choice over morality. People like myself, during that time of Roe and coming out of a sexual revolution, didn’t even think about morality. And unfortunately, it led to us prioritizing as a society, death over life. The overturning of Roe and the fight that’s ahead is about protecting the most vulnerable among us. That the right to life is paramount in our pursuit for justice, pivotal in knowledge and scientific facts, and fundamental in safeguarding human rights. 

After all, true freedom does not come at the expense of another’s life. And while the left and the media may not state these facts, our Constitution does. And so does our conscience as well. That’s why 78% of Americans know we’ve made a mistake in allowing for this womb-to-tomb death to continue. They know we know that we must value life. The debate now is at what stage and there are many of us in [the] pro-life community that believe at every stage. We must provide support, of course, and guidance for those that are facing crisis pregnancies. I mean, this is a real issue, a very personal issue. And that’s why this is the work of the pro-life movement from here, going into the various states, making sure that our pregnancy care centers have everything they need to serve their community, that woman who is now lost like I was. This is why we must march forward as a society to shape the value of life, the great art and meaning of life so that we reach that mountaintop where abortion is not only unlawful, but that we as Americans make abortion truly unthinkable.